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We have offered £80 million from our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund to support the deployment of the Scottish Cluster. Due to delays with the UK Government awarding the Scottish Cluster, the offer of financial support was not required and we have re-profiled funding into subsequent years. We remain committed to supporting the Scottish Cluster and continue to urge to UK Government to commit to a concrete timeline and processes to ensure the Track 2 sequencing process commences in 2023.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The Scottish Government funds a number of organisations for work supporting refugee integration, currently through the Connected Communities budget. This funding has totalled £940,000 a year since 2017-18. The Scottish Government takes an inclusive approach with wider work across a range of policy areas also supporting integration and the aims of the New Scots strategy.

In August 2020, the New Scots partnership secured funding of £5 million from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project (NSRIDP) to enhance the delivery of the New Scots refugee integration strategy until December 2022. This included 10% match funding (£500,000) from Scottish Government.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The development of an ‘exit pack’ for newly recognised refugees is an action under the Housing theme of the New Scots refugee integration strategy 2018-22.

The COVID-19 pandemic and work to support people arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine have impacted delivery of the strategy and meant that this action has not been taken forward as planned. However, the Scottish Government has published a Welcome Pack for New Scots, which includes information on housing. It can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/welcome-pack-new-scots/pages/1/

Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means, and timescales, of further expanding access to thrombectomy, including how the increased budget will be best used in recruiting staff to maximise the number of patients able to benefit from this treatment.

By working with National Services Division, we aim to ensure that decisions taken on potential expansions of the thrombectomy service consider the wider access requirements of patients across Scotland and ensure access is as equitable as possible.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13547 on 16 January 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Water does not maintain information by parliamentary region, however it is able to provide information for the closest equivalent area. There were 151 reports in December 2022 in this large geographical region ( Argyll Islands, Argyll Mainland, Caithness, Fort William, Orkney, Ness, Shetland, Skye, West Coast & Western Isles ), compared to 185 reports in December 2021. This would include both leaks reported by customers as well as those identified separately by Scottish Water as part of its active leakage management.

Scottish Water is investing over £87 million during the current regulatory period (2021-27) to improve its network of water mains and reduce the risk of interruptions to supply for customers. It is also continually working throughout the year to actively find and repair water leaks on the network and to manage water resources. Unfortunately, there can be an increased risk to water pipes as a result of a freeze and rapid thaw, as was experienced recently in December 2022, and Scottish Water operatives worked tirelessly in freezing conditions during this time to respond to the issues which occurred on the water network. During this period, Scottish Water also saw an increase in bursts on customer private supply pipes and internal plumbing, which had a significant impact. Scottish Water has an annual campaign to raise awareness about how important it is for customers to protect their pipes by taking appropriate measures. More information about this is available on their website at "Winter Wrapped Up" and "Protect your Pipes".

Scottish Water does not maintain information by parliamentary region, however it is able to provide information for the closest equivalent area. For this large geographical area ( Argyll Islands, Argyll Mainland, Caithness, Fort William, Orkney, Ness, Shetland, Skye, West Coast & Western Isles ), it is estimated that total leakage levels were 47.2 Mega litres per day for December 2022.

The Scottish Government’s international offices use five shared strategic objectives to inform the activity and evaluation of their work. These are:

• Scotland's international reputation is improved;
• Scottish businesses are trading internationally more effectively;
• Scottish research and innovation capability is promoted and further partnerships and funding secured;
• Investment to Scotland has increased
• Scotland's interests in the EU and beyond are protected and enhanced.

When reporting against these outcomes, offices use a range of both qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure their performance, monitor their effectiveness; ensure they are achieving their strategic objectives and that they are providing value for money.

The Scottish Government works closely with relevant third sector organisations at a policy and communication level when developing public health messaging. Charities across Scotland are invited to disseminate vital public health messages via relevant charity outreach and platforms.

No specific strategy is in place to help charities share public health messages on government social media feeds. Any request from a charity for information to be shared on Scottish Government social media feeds is reviewed on a case by case basis by relevant officials across policy and communications.